There was a nice tribute in The Guardian today to Nancy Banks Smith who has completed 40 years as a TV reviewer. It made me think about what I’ve watched over the last week.

I watch as much or as little TV as the next person but I’m really not given to watching much music. I don’t find it it too compelling to

have to know what people look like; sometimes it can even put you off. I did see two bits of music TV this week. Firstly I saw as much as I could take of the Grammys. Here was a case of the medium becoming the message. Each live performance blended in to another as everyone decided the only thing missing from any given song was the kitchen sink. Truly awful. (I hasten to add too that the winners bore little or no resemblance to good records that have come out over the last year – but that’s for another day.) It was all that is bad in the music business and Lord knows I’ve been in it long enough to recognise its bad days.

I decided instead to watch something which I recorded weeks ago and hadn’t yet seen: a BBC4 documentary of Fleetwood Mac. Many would say that my dismissal of the Grammys would be equally apposite for the Mac…but not me. Here was a great documentary which had the cumulative effect of doing the very thing any good music show ought to do: make you go out and listen to more of their music. On that criterion the programme was a resounding success. Sara, Dreams, Landslide…all songs that I had to hear again. Three great song writers in one band all giving their own story of being in one of the most successful acts of all time – then divorcing each other – well, that’s a story that’s got to be worth hearing. Conclusion…. keep getting back to the music. Ignore all the hoo-ha of Brits, Grammys and any other televised awards and celebrate what you hear and like. As E M Foster so beautifully put it, “Avoid all occasions which require new clothes.”

You can listen on Friday in your semet. A great double act of Charlie Dore and Beth Neilson Chapman, new music from Ben Glover, Midlake, John Hiatt and a special mention to Caitlin Rose (one to watch). We’ll finally get round to playing The Avett Brothers – which I’ve been dying to do since the start of the year. If that doesn’t convince you try this: the first track from, what must be the final record from Johnny Cash, American VI. All from 8 on Friday night on Another Country, BBC Radio Scotland.

Over the years people have stuck tapes, CDs and a few other things in my hands. I’ve even had the odd thing posted to me. Believe me when I say that I listen to them all and never assume that because I don’t get them they are not worthwhile. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve chatted with a couple of up and coming song writers and it is always exciting to meet the force and confidence of youth.

I say this because (although it seems long ago now) I was once such a song writer. I was also from the sticks. People used to say about getting started in music; talk to someone in the business. I knew no one. It was Dundee and the late seventies and early eighties and it really felt a million miles from wherever the music business was meant to be. If I’m honest I really think we thought (or I did) that it really wasn’t for the likes of us. Punk did change a good deal of that but even now I do sometimes wonder whether that attitude stops real talent pushing their way forward.

So Celtic Connections is good because it really ignores these traditional routes to success. Many of the artists playing there have great careers but have never been played on mainstream radio or ever have ever had to endure making a promo video. They have simply followed their heart and made the music they have been listening to, adapting and changing. One of the nice things I have learned about music from working on the radio is we really do take each record as we find it. We love finding new things and sharing them with you and we hugely enjoy it when an established artist comes back with something we can’t ignore. So this week we have brand new music from Sweden – First Aid Kit, Beach House, Dawn Landes and Laura Veirs from USA as well as Ray Price and Dolly Parton. We also have country royalty as we play the session and interview from Holly Williams she cut with us last week and some tracks from the Low Anthem’s live appearance at The FruitMarket Cletic Connections show. All great stuff.

Going back to the sticks however. I’m aware that we broadcast from Glasgow and are lucky enough to get these great acts coming through town. Where I grew up there were very few American acts coming to play and I am aware that many people may feel that in their part of the world they feel cut off. I relate to this hugely and please feel free to criticise us if we sound too Glasgowcentric. We’d love to hear and be involved in events all over Scotland and flag them up for people’s attention. Coming from the sticks is something that made me feel an outsider for years. It’s being an outsider that makes me think the way I do and rejoice when I find that spirit in the music I’m playing. Long live the sticks.

I’ve been at Celtic Connections over the last week or so. There’s a lot going on and I’ve managed to (almost) balance taking part with seeing some things and meeting some good friends. For Another Country we get some of the best interviews and guest sessions thanks to the huge turnover of Americana artists visiting Glasgow.

The first fruits of this will be heard on Friday when we chat to Teddy Thompson. We’re big fans of Teddy’s music on the show and Teddy’s album, Upfront and Lowdown was his answer to people who don’t quite get country. We’ll be playing something from that on Friday as well as an exclusive recording from the Way To Blue/Nick Drake show on Wednesday night. Nick Drake’s music was perhaps the most unAmerican of any artist I can think of but his influence was huge and Teddy will talk about this on Friday night. Stay tuned to for what my daughters always refer to as a “randomer” during the interview. It’s no ordinary “randomer” though. Rather one of the doyens of British Folk music and it’s a great moment. Pictures later!

There’s lots of new music for the new year. I got an advance copy of something I’ve been waiting for for ages; the new Patty Griffin album. Called “Downtown Church,”  the record’s produced by Buddy Miller and recorded in the Downtown Presbyterian church in Nashville…..you’re going to love it. In no particular order here’s some other things I hope to draw your attention to over the next few weeks: new albums from The Eels,Brendan Benson, Israel Nash Gripka, Danny and The Champions of The World and a great tribute album to The Mississippi Sheiks.

Finally thank you to those of you who have come up to me recently and told me how much you are enjoying the show. That means so much to me and it really is great when I meet you out enjoying music. Keep in touch. Right now I’m going to have another coffee and listen to the rest of the Dolly Parton album that’s been playing in the background while I wrote this blog. A track from that next week too, I hope. I’ll catch you on Friday at 8.